Yonat Shimron
Yonat Shimron is an RNS National Reporter and Senior Editor.
All Stories by Yonat Shimron
During Gaza war, evangelicals have become Israel’s best friend
By Bob Smietana and Yonat Shimron — February 28, 2024
(RNS) — As criticism against Israel mounts and pressure for a ceasefire rises, Israeli leaders are working to shore up evangelical support.
Amid protester demands, North Carolina city council calls for a Gaza cease-fire
By Yonat Shimron — February 20, 2024
(RNS) — Durham is the second city in North Carolina to vote for a cease-fire resolution and one of 70 nationwide, including Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit and Seattle.
Documentary about the murders of 3 Muslims explores religious hatred
By Yonat Shimron — February 19, 2024
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — '36 Seconds' examines the agonizing overnight pivot of the bereaved families as they move from shock over their loved ones' murders to advocacy for a hate crime conviction that never materialized.
Peace pilgrimage takes up war in Gaza as a civil rights issue
By Yonat Shimron — February 13, 2024
(RNS) — Many Black Americans view the Palestinian cause in the context of the African American experience of oppression. This has on occasion strained relations with American Jews.
Legislation aims to ‘decolonize’ United Methodists, give parity to non-US conferences
By Yonat Shimron — February 6, 2024
(RNS) — A proposed regionalization plan would undo the dominance and control of the US church and make it on par with United Methodist conferences abroad.
Reform Jews support ‘just’ war in Gaza but call for two-state solution
By Yonat Shimron — January 31, 2024
(RNS) — The statement is an attempt to thread the needle. It conveys resolute support for Israel while at the same time criticizing some Israeli proposals for the war's aftermath.
Franklin Graham’s border tour draws 20,000 signers demanding its cancelation
By Yonat Shimron — January 29, 2024
(RNS) — Critics are calling the 10-city tour 'hypocritical' and denouncing what they say are Graham's 'anti-immigrant' views.
Massachusetts man threatened to kill Jews as antisemitic incidents rise
By Yonat Shimron — January 29, 2024
(RNS) — The 59-year-old Massachusetts man is alleged to have called Congregation Agudas Achim, a synagogue in Attleboro, and left a voicemail threatening to kill Jews.
The UMC lost a quarter of its churches — most in the South
By Yonat Shimron — January 26, 2024
(RNS) — The same area of the country that tends to be the most politically conservative and Republican-leaning was where most United Methodist churches voted to leave the denomination.
Support for Israel’s war in Gaza is unraveling among some Jewish groups
By Yonat Shimron — January 23, 2024
(RNS) — J Street, the liberal American Jewish organization dedicated to a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, called for an end to the war, the latest American Jewish group to do so.
How a leaderless Chabad movement led to an illegal tunnel brawl
By Yonat Shimron — January 18, 2024
(RNS) — The tunnel’s discovery was just the latest in a 30-year clash among factions of the Hasidic group led by the late Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died 30 years ago.
Sharon Brous on the power of saying ‘amen’ in a broken world
By Yonat Shimron — January 11, 2024
(RNS) — 'The Amen Effect' is an extended meditation on the importance of showing up — in good times and bad.
A Jew coined the word ‘genocide.’ Now it’s being used against the Jewish state.
By Yonat Shimron — January 10, 2024
(RNS) — Israel has vehemently denied the accusation that the International Court of Justice will begin hearing Thursday.
The key to keeping those New Year’s resolutions? Make it about somebody else.
By Yonat Shimron — January 4, 2024
(RNS) — Experts say a core spiritual practice — even if it's only a few minutes a day — and a commitment to working with others are key to keeping resolutions.
13 emerging faith leaders who made their mark in 2023
By Yonat Shimron — December 28, 2023
(RNS) — 2023's rising stars in religion are loud, proud and defiant.
